While modern pop groups are often brought together by managers or mentors, the most enduring musical partnerships are often forged earlier in life.
And that’s the case with Scottish trio Jewel Scheme, whose relationship goes back quite a way.
The new project brings together Martin John Henry with his former De Rosa bandmate Chris Connick as well as Allan Carrol of Knockout Ned.
Despite all three members coming from the same area of Lanarkshire, the recording process was somewhat complicated on account of Carrol now being based in Cyprus. However, songwriter Henry was already used to working alone, having several releases under his own name, while Covid was a productive time, spawning an album as Whin with Robert Dallas Grey, formerly of Life Without Buildings (a band who also some consolation in lockdown as their track ‘The Leanover’ went viral on Tiktok).
“Working remotely on projects like Whin started to get me thinking that more things are possible,” Henry told the Manicpopthrills website.
As Covid eased the band were able to properly get together in Cyprus, recording a week’s worth of material which they completed in Scotland.
And the sessions in Paphos were something of a reunion for reasons personal as well as musical.
“Both Allan and Chris went to school with me,” Henry relates, “in fact I’ve known Chris since primary school and he was the first person I was ever in a band with.
“We even started a band with another guy in primary school although I don’t know if we ever actually played in front of anybody!”
Fans of De Rosa’s three albums will have noted that there is no drummer listed in the new lineup, and yes, the Jewel Scheme album does indeed have a more electronic feel to it, as well as utilising sound samples such as monastery bells from their time in Cyprus (the bizarre album sleeve also comes from the island, from a menswear shop’s window display.
But it’s back to the homeland for Carrol and pals for the album’s launch this weekend.
“Although we’ve been friends forever, it was a kind of healing, creative process because we hadn’t made music together for 20 years,” Henry says. “ So we approached it with the idea of ‘let’s make it fun’.”
‘Jewel Scheme’ is out now. This article originally appeared in the Edinburgh News.